Bolster support means for rail car trucks



July 14, 1953 A. o. WILLIAMS BOLSTER SUPPORT MEANS'FOR RAIL CAR 'mucxs Filed April 28 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. ALFRED O. WILLIAMS BY f ATTY.

July 14, 1953 A. o. WILLIAMS BOLSTER SUPPORT MEANS FOR RAIL CAR TRUCKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28. 1950 FIG. 4

Patented July 14, 1953 BOLSTER SUPPORT MEANS FOR RAIL CAR TRUCKS or Alfred 0. Williams, Battle Creek, Mich., assignor to Clark Equipment Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application April 28, 1950, Serial No. 158,729

1 Claim.

My invention relates generally to rail car trucks and is directed, more specifically, to bolster support means for a rail car truck.

In the rail car art it has been common practice :to provide support means for the bolster, of a character for permitting limited endwise movement of the bolster. So far as I am aware, such endwise movement of the bolster has been accomplished by swing links mounted between the bolster and the rail car truck frame. such swing links, while giving the characteristics desired for rail car construction, are objection- .able in that they occupy considerable space and necessitate the provision of bearing supports which render them costly to fabricate and assemble in a rail car truck.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and compact bolster support means which avoids the aforementioned and other disadvantages of the known swing links, and which pro- .adapted to support the ends of a transversely extending bolster.

I have found that it is undesirable to connect directly the coil springs adjacent their upper and lower ends to the bolster and rail car truck frame, respectively, as the springs, due to their rigidity, do not permit endwise movement of the bolster to the degree desired. I, therefore, propose to provide resilient sandwich means, comprising spaced apart plate members between which are interposed suitable resilient block members, between the bottom end of each of the springs and the adjacent truck -frame, and between the upper end of each of the springs and the bolster.

The provision of the resilient sandwich members adjacent the upper and lower ends of the springs, which support the bolster, permits the axis of the springs to incline in the direction of movement of the bolster, while the ends of the springs remain substantially parallel. That :is to say, one pair of diagonal sides of each of the resilient sandwich members compress while the other pair of diagonal sides expand, thereby {compensating for the differences in distances between one side of the springs and the bolster, and the other side of the springs and the bolster. The above bolster suspension provides adequate spring capacity in a vertical direction by means of the coil springs and also permits endwise movement of the bolster through the provision of the resilient sandwich members adjacent the upper and lower ends of the springs.

- It is a further object of my invention to provide resilient bumper members adjacent each A bers Company, Buchanan,

the transversely extending bolster, and are adapted to engage with upwardly extending flange members secured to the truck frame.

It will be readily observed that by virtue of the above construction the bolster support means.

of my invention, may be economically fabricated,

.and inst'allation'of the bolster support means in a rail car truck is considerably simplified in that no provision need be made for bearings or journaledsupport of any moving parts, as required in prior art constructions.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of using and constructing devices of my present invention, I shall describe in connection with the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a bolster supported by the bolster support means of my present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section view of the bolster support means of my invention taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, showing the position of the elements of the bolster support means when the bolster has been shifted endwise; I

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of a rail car truck with which the bolster support means of my present invention is embodied; and

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the rail car truck of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown avrail car truck frame, indicated generally by the reference numeral I0, which has formed adjacentits ends upwardly extending flange meni- I I. Since my present invention is concerned primarily with a bolster support means which may be adapted for use with any type of conventional rail car truck, it is believed that a complete showing of the rail car truck frame is unnecessary for purposes I of this application.

Disposed adjacent each side of the rail car truck frame 10, intermediate of the ends thereof, are resilient sandwich members l2 which comprise vertically spaced apart circular plate members l3 and I4, between which are interposed resilient blockmembers l5, preferably formed of rubber. The lower plate member [3 of each of the resilient sandwich members 12 is disposed within a recess formed in the upper surface of the truck r me .10.;A. rerticallyexiendins flan m mbe blocks 62.

3 I6 is mounted to the upper surface of each of the upper plate members I4 of the resilient sandwich members I2, and adapted to be disposed about the members I6 are vertically extending coil springs I'I.

Carried at the upper ends of each of the coil springs H are resilient sandwich members I8 which are similar in construction to the resilient sandwich members I2. The resilient sandwich members I8 comprise vertically spaced upper and lower plate members I9 and 20, respectively, between which are interposed resilient block members 2 I, preferably formed of rubber or any other suitable equivalent. A vertically extending annular flange member 22 is secured to the bottom surface of each of the lower-plate members 20 'of resilient sandwich members I8, and the members 22 are adapted to be disposed within the coil springs II.

A bolster 25 is provided which extends transversely of the truck frame I and overlies the aforedescribed bolster support means. The bolster 25 has formed, in the lower surface thereof, a pair of recesses which are adapted to receive the upper plate members I9 of the resilient sandwich members I8.

The bolster 25 has formed at each of its ends downwardly extending flange members 26 to which, at the lower ends thereof, are secured, as by bolts 50, inwardly extending rubber bumper members 21. The members 21 are adapted to engage with the upwardly extending flanges II of the truck frame III.

The truck frame I0 is suitably secured, at its ends, bv means of a plurality of bolts 59 to the intermediate portions of parallel sideframe members 60 which, at their ends, are resiliently mounted on coil springs BI supported on journal The journal blocks 62, have rotatably mounted therein axles 63 upon the ends of which are secured wheels 64. Since the details of the truck frame do not form part of my present invention it is believed that the foregoing description thereof is suflicient for purposes of the present disclosure.

When the rail car truck frame I0 is in a stationary position, thetransversely extending bolster 25' and the bolster support means therefor are maintained substantially in the position shown in Figure 2. When, however, the rail car truck I0 is in motion and a car body, supported by the bolster 25, is caused to sway to and fro, such motion is transmitted to the bolster 25 through the king pin seat 26. If the bolster 25 is urged to the right, to the position shown in Figure 3, it will be seen that the lengthwise extending axis of the coil'springs I I is shifted from a vertical position to an inclined position. This shifting of the lengthwise axis of the coil springs I1 would not be permitted ordinarily if the upper and lower-ends of the springs were rigidly mounted to the bolster 25 and truck frame I0, due to the rigidity of the coil springs. However, by the provision of the resilient sandwich members I2 and I8, adjacent the lower and upper ends of the spring members H, the ends of the springs I? are permitted to remain substantially parallel. The ends of the coil springs I! remain parallel because the resilient members and 2I, of each of the resilient members I5 and 2I,

compress adjacent one pair of the diagonal sides and expand adjacent the other'pair of the diagonal sides.

While limited endwise movement of the bolster 25 is desirable, excessive endwise movement is undesirable-and the aforedescribed rubber bump- 4 er members 21 are provided for limiting the latter. Endwise movement of the bolster 25 may be controlled selectively by changing the hardness, shape, location, and number of bumpers 21 to secure the desired cushioning.

If the bolster 25 is urged to the left, the axis of the coil springs I1 is inclined in a direction opposite to that shown in Figure 3, and the resilient members I5 and 2I compress adjacent the opposite pair of diagonal ends as shown therein.

Now, while I have shown and described what I believe to be a preferred embodiment of my present invention, it will be understood that various modifications and rearrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my present invention.

I claim:

In a rail car truck having a frame, the combination of a pair of first resilient sandwich members disposed .on each side of the truck frame, each of said first resilient sandwich members comprising an upper and a lower plate member between which is disposed a resilient block member, the lower plate member of each of said first resilient block members being received within a recess formed in each end of the truck frame, an annular flange member secured to each of said upper plate members of said first resilient sandwich members, a coil spring disposed about each of said annular flange members in juxtaposition of the upper plate members of said first resilient sandwich members, a second pair of resilient sandwich members disposed at the upper end of each of said coil springs, said second resilient sandwich members comprising upper and lower plate members between which are interposed resilient block members, an annular flange member secured to the bottom'of each of said bottom plate members of said second resilient sandwich members which annular ring members are adapted to be received within said coil spring members, a bolster extending transversely of said rail car truck, spaced recesses formed in said bolster adapted to receive the upper plate member of each of aid second resilient sandwich members, upwardly extending flange members integrally with andadjacent each side of the truck frame outwardly of said coil springs, downwardly extending flange members integrally with and adjacent each end .of said bolster outwardly of said upwardly extending flange members, and resilient bumper members secured to the downwardly extending flange members of said boster and adapted to engage with the upwardy extending flange members of the truck frame.

ALFRED O. WILLIAMS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Numb er Name Date 114,587 Morse May 9, 1871 373,640 "Brill Nov. 22, 1887 450,627 Krehbiel Apr. 21, 1891 2,009,059 Brennan et al July 23, 1935 2,317,398 Nystrom 'et al Apr. 27, 1943 2,319,623 Nystrom et al. May 18, 1943 2,347,500 Parke Apr. 25, 1944 2,510,353 'Travilla June 6, 1950 2,538,380 Pfiager Jan. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 527,468 Great'Britain Oct. 9, I940 

